Apparatus for contacting liquids



Feb. 19, 1935. c. E. TARTE APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING LIQUIDS Filed Aug. 25, 1932 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 19,1935

UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE,

1,992,133 APPARATUS FOR CONTACTING LIQUIDS Charles E. Tarte, Augusta, Kans., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 25,- 1932, Serial No. 530,384

'3 Claims. (01.196-46) and where the character of the treatment-is such that relatively great amounts of reagents should be contacted with thetreated liquid, yet the net alteration or use of the reagent; per contactis small. i For example, in the treating of petroluem distillates with caustic soda solutions for various purposes it is desirable that relatively great amounts of reagent should meet the oil, at-each contact in order that the reaction may be rapid and complete. Yet the consumption of reagent per contact issmall, and,;the cost of reagent is relatively large so that economy as well as chemical theory dictatethat thecaustic beused many times before being wasted from the system. 1

Prior art systems for accomplishing this purpose are many. One of the most common makes use of closed vessels partially full of the caustic solution through which the oil is pumped. An-

other method consists of placing the two liquids in avessel and agitating mechanically or with air. The liquids may be mixed in pipes, pumped through a pipe with orifice plates for further mixing and then led to a vessel for. settling. Variationsof the latter method make use of jet mixers, or centrifugal pumps to accomplish the mixing before introduction to the settling chamber.

'A more recent device of the prior art comprises a settling vessel, in the bottom of'which reagent collects. The entering stream of raw oil, by jet action, draws reagent from this collection space into a pipe outsidethe settler, mixes the oil and reagent in that pipeyreceives in the same pipe a further dosage of freshreagent and then enters the settling drum for separation It is the object of this invention'to (provide a cheaper, more compact, more convenient and more easily maintained apparatus for-accomplishirig the contact step outlined. It is an important object to provide such an apparatus which has a minimum of outside piping exposed to the action of corrosive agents, to provide a structure which may readily be fabricated of corrosion-resisting materials, and which is capable, if desired, of having all surfaces exposed to reagent cheaply covered with protective coating.

The apparatus has been designed in the. first.

instance to facilitate the treating of a petroleum distillate with a water solution of caustic soda and for convenience and brevity the following discussion will be limited to that application. However, the apparatus is capable of far wider application and it should be understood that it lends itself to any operation where the essential 5 is that of treating a liquid with another of differing specific gravity, and not solely limited to the terms of the present discussion.

In the chemical refining of petroleum-distillates, more particularlyin the'refining of gasoline, frequent instances require the treatment of oil with causticsolution. In the commoner case, the oil has been treated with sulphuric acid, and has been freed from the sludge produced thereby. This oil must now be treatedwith alkali to remove any lingering traces of acidity. The

demand upon the caustic alkali for any single step is not great and economy requires that the caustic be used repeatedly. In order that the action may be rapid and complete it is desirable m that relatively great amounts of caustic becontacted with'the gasoline.- To avoid carry-over of caustic with the gasoline resulting'in a subsequent loss of caustic in water washing of the gasoline, effective settling is required.

' To meet these various requirements I have provided the apparatus of this invention. It is adapted to be used-as the single unit of such a system, or a series of these units may be so interconnected that the material to be treated may -.flow through the units serially, meeting a diiferent step of the treatment ineachbody. For example, acid treatment may be carried out in the first body, a water washing in the second body, caustic treatment in the. third, and Water washing in the last body. Or where the treatment with any one reagent requires successive steps, each step may be carried out in one of these units. In such cases, it may frequently be found desirable to so connect the units that reagents 0 may flow from unit to unit in a direction counter to flow of oil, so that the most nearly exhausted reagent meets the least treated oil. :1 1

In order that my invention may be made clear I have attachedto and made a part of this specification a drawing showing my preferred form of apparatus.

In the drawing Figure 1 shows a sectional view of the apparatus taken vertically along a longitudinal center line, and Figure 2 shows a sec- 60 tional view taken at right angles to the longi tudinal center line.

In Figure 1 of the drawing, 1 indicates a vessel or container, divided into two portions by a partition 12.v Thisvessel is indicated as being placed in a sloping position, with the longer axis rising toward the exit 3, but it may equally well be placed in a horizontal position. 2 indicates an entry pipe for the oil to be treated, and 3 an exit pipe for the same oil. 4 is a hood or Venturi device whereby the incoming jet of oil may pick p a d e n he austic in the mixin c amber. The mixed caustic and oil pass through orifice 5in partition 12 and encounter bafiles 6. These baffles 6 are preferably placed in a sloping position, with their lowest end presented to the oncoming mixture. Whenthe entire-beds l is set upon a slope, these baiiles may be parallel to its longest axis, but when the body 1' is set horizontal the slope of the bellies should be maintained. The baifies 6 serve to entrain and agglomerate the droplets of reagent and promote settling. Droplets not thus separated settle out in the settling space further provided. The set: tled reagent collects in a body indicated by 7 and eturns the'mixine, Ghamber by r fice 8 in partition 1 Fr sh reag n may en r hr ugh line and spent rea en ay be d awnl t rough v lve 0, ac ua ed y fl a con r 1 acting upon the interface between oil and regen Figure '2 is a sectional view showing in detail the arrangement of openings 5 and 8 in p rtitieh. 2-

apparatus has the advantage over many ior art set-ups n ha i i ent ely free fro mer ts; pa t in nt t w th reagent. It has a furthe advautaeein bein substant ly fr from external ipihs- Pro ab e ost msextant ad anta e esults from the simple cone stru t ena If the use o whi t i bu allows he u e at tch ste i ma e fabricated f m simple plates and shapes. b wel i t may wi h eq al. eas b fabricated imilar y of corresi resi ting meta s. In s vere service cases,

the babe and fittin s are such that it may chea 1y b lined wi h lea orrubber and the jet and baffles may uch cases be made of lead. ha rubber, or ston ware Th ntire apparatus may be a i. desi ed, of stonewa r g as W thout sacrifice. 0i eflieieney.

The appara us cf. th sinventien mayv b use not. only for the purpose se forth bove, but is equally app icable to such pro esses. a the r atment.,.of oils with liquid sulphur dioxide, the extraction of water solubleccmpbund from oi s, the extracticncf alcohol solubl compo nd fr m oils, the. extraction of ether soluble compeunds from water; in fact it. may be used in. any proce s where the essential step is that of contacting one liquid with another which is largely nonmiscible with the first and (iififel's in specific gravity therefrom. 1

n vi wf h wid applicability of; this apparatus I desire to claim it in the broadest equivalents, limited only by such limitations as appear in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for contacting a liquid with a liquid'rcagent largely nonemiscible with the said liquid and differing in specific gravity therefrom, comprising a container internally divided by a partition into a separating chamber and a mixing chamber, the relative elevation of such chambers being such that the settled reagent may flow by gravity from the settling chamber to the mixin chamber, m an to introduce settled reagent from settling chamber to. mixing chamber, means to introduce raw liquid to mixing chamber, means to introduce fresh reagent to mixing chamber, means actuated by the velocity of inc min raw liquid to entrain settled reagent and fresh reagent with incoming liquid, means to transfer mixture from mixing chamber to settlin chamber, means to withdraw reagent and means to withdraw treated liquid.

2. Apparatus for contacting a liquid with a. liquid reagent largely non-miscible with the said liquid and differing in specific gravity therefrom, cgmprising a container internally divided by a. partition into aseparatins chamber and a. mixing chamber, the relative elevation of; such chambers being such that the settled reagent may flowby gravity from the settling chamber to the mixing chamber, means communicating between the mixing chamber and the bottom .0! the separating chamber, means communicating between the top of the mixing chamber and the separating chamber, means to introduce raw liqe uid' to be treated into the mixing chamber, entrainment means in the mixing chamber actuated by the velocity of incoming raw liquid, means for introducing fresh reagent to the mixing chamben means for withdrawing magent from the separating chamber, and means for withdrawing treated liquid from the separatingchamber, said means being so located that said container is maintained substantially filled'wlth liquid. V

3. Apparatus for contacting a. liquid'with' a liquid reagent largely non-miscible with-the said liquid and differing in Specific gravity therefrom, comprisinga containerintcr-nally divided by a. partition into a, mixing chamber and a. separating chamber, the relativeelevation of such chambers being such that the settled reagent may flow by gravity from the settling chamber to the mixing chamber, means; communicating between the bottom of the separating chamber and the mixing chamber, means for introducing fresh rc-; agent to the mixing chamber, means 1'01- introducing raw liquid to be treated into the mixing raw iquid m a s commumca ins' e ween. th

top of the mixin chamber and the settlin chamher, a series of battles opposed to the stream from l t m nti ned c nmmnicating means, means for emoving rea ent from the settling lumbe and means for removing treated liquid from the s ttling chamb r. said means being-so lo a d that said, container is maintained substantially filled with liquid.

. CHARLES E. TARTE. 

